things that return
by AtLoLevad
Summary: Spoilers for 16x13 "She". Tony and Ziva fly back to Paris.


_A/N: I am not okay and I will not be okay for the foreseeable future. This was written before any of the episode sunk in, so I'm sure it doesn't make sense if you start picking at the details. So don't do that! Just enjoy it and leave me a review because I want to scream about this episode for eternity._

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"Y'know," Tony said casually, leaning his head against the seat's headrest. "I don't know why we had to be all cloak and dagger here."

Ziva looked over at her husband and wrinkled her nose. "You know why, Tony."

He did know - and he understood it, but still. He reached out and interlocked their fingers, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. "Still woulda been nice to see Tim and the gang."

"You should come back with Tali," Ziva said seriously, turning a little in her seat to face him. "My demons should not prevent you from seeing our family."

She wished she could join him - she missed the team just as much as he did. The pictures Tim and Jimmy sent Tony regularly were nice, but she would love to see the twins and Victoria grow up in person and see Tali play with her pseudo-cousins. It was the hardest thing she had ever done - self-imposed exile for everyone's protection. And when Tony had rejoined her with Tali, it had only become that much harder.

"Aw, come on," Tony rolled his eyes affectionately. He nudged her side gently with their joined hands. "It's about time you came home. As much as I love Paris, all the _fromage_ isn't good for my diet."

Ziva teasingly gave him a once over and pursed her lips. "I will agree with you there, my love."

"You wound me, Ziva," Tony grinned, clapping his free hand over his heart. "But seriously, think about it. We've been safe for three years and if, God forbid, anything happened, the team could help."

Ziva listened to Tony - being around the team did make everything easier. Not even just for security purposes, childcare would be must easier when they would be able to add more than just themselves and Senior into the rotation. She sighed. Unfortunately, Tony had a point.

"I will concede that it could be time to think about a relocation stateside," she allowed slowly.

Tony's answering grin was infectious. Ziva couldn't help the smile that threatened to form. Tony wiggled his eyebrows at her, and the smile escaped.

"What?" she demanded.

"Better think fast," he replied, "I don't know if this family can afford a kid that's a French citizen."

Ziva laughed. "Tali is an Israeli citizen. Do you love her any less?"

"Never!" Tony gasped, scandalized. He smiled wickedly though, "Israel gave me the two loves of my life. France, though?"

"France brought us back together, Tony," she reminded him.

Tony pretended to think. "I guess that's true. They do make one hell of a croissant, too."

Now it was Ziva's turn to roll her eyes affectionately. It was more than likely that their second child would be born in France. But maybe he or she would be celebrating their first birthday in DC.

"Thank you for coming with me, Tony," Ziva changed the subject. She leaned back in her seat, trying to get comfortable.

Tony shrugged. "My pleasure, Z. Wasn't a hard decision to make. Although, you know that leaving my dad in charge of the munchkin for three days means she's gonna be on an ice cream high until she graduates college."

Laughing, Ziva had to agree. Senior had taken to the role of grandfather like an otter to water. He doted on the little girl and Tali loved his attention. If anything, seeing Tony's dad with their little girl only made Ziva want to expose Tali to the rest of their family. This had been his first real test as a babysitter and Ziva was more than ready to get home. She held tighter to Tony's hand and leaned her cheek against his shoulder.

"I am very grateful to Bishop, for her tenacity and her fire in solving Morgan's case," Ziva said quietly. Thinking about Morgan Burke and her daughter locked in a basement for ten years made her skin crawl and her stomach turn.

"Told you that you'd like her," Tony teased. Then, growing serious, he said, "She's good, Ellie. She's learned a lot in her time working with Gibbs."

"Didn't we all?" Ziva replied quietly - thinking about her seven years in the orange bullpen and the grey-haired man that had been more like a father than her own. Their reunion the day before had been a moment she would never forget. The emotions - anger, relief, confusion, *love* - that had crossed Gibbs' face were more than likely mirrored on her own. Asking him to continually lie to the team and pretend that she was still dead had been nearly impossible, but Gibbs, like Tony and Senior and now, Eleanor, had understood the need for safety. He'd hugged her tighter than ever before and sent her off with a quiet, "Miss ya, Ziver," that had tears rolling down her cheeks.

Tony hummed an agreement and they both fell silent, tired from the traveling and the emotional release of the case. The "cloak and dagger" return to DC had been more fraught than either one of them realized it would be. But getting closure on Morgan's case had been worth it.

Ziva pressed herself as close to Tony's side as she could manage. His hand draped loosely over her stomach, his fingers stroking absently.

As the plane flew smoothly towards the City of Lights, Ziva let out a relieved sigh and relaxed back, more at ease than she had been in a while. There was still a long way to go before she felt safe enough to bring her family back to DC, but this was a start.


End file.
